Maracaibo
Maracaibo lies on the Spanish Main and is also known as La Tierra de Sol Amada (The Land Beloved by the Sun).
Although Columbus discovered the coast of the Spanish Main, it was Alonso de Oleda who discovered Lake Maracaibo. The local Indians built stilt houses on the lakes of the shore, and Oleda named the land Venezuela, or “Little Venice.”
The first Spanish colony, Nueva Cadiz, was founded on the coast in the early 1500’s, but was destroyed by a tidal wave.
Maracaibo was founded in 1571 on the western side of Lake Maracaibo, where the city sits in a natural harbor. Narrows lead over 30 miles from the lake to the ocean, forcing ships to move slowly to avoid becoming stuck on sandbars. Access to Maracaibo from land is impossible without traversing the lake.
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